Oakland Woman Dies of Apparent Overdose at Coachella Festival

18 Apr 2014

A 24-year old woman, identified as Kimchi Truong of Oakland, has died of a suspected overdose after attending the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio last weekend, reports the Los Angeles Times.

According to Sgt. Curt James of the Riverside County sheriff-coroner’s office, the woman collapsed near the taxi area of the festival at approximately 2 a.m. on Sunday and was taken to JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio.

Earlier, Truong had sought help at one of the festival’s medical tents, authorities told local NBC affiliate KMIR News, although it wasn’t immediately clear what kind of treatment she received.

Truong was later transferred to Desert Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Riverside County coroner’s office says a toxicology report will be issued to determine the exact cause of death, but the results could take up to four weeks.

Coachella organizer Goldenvoice issued the following statement:

Last weekend, a festival attendee suffered an apparent drug overdose. The individual was seen by on-site medical staff and later transferred to JFK Memorial Hospital and later to Desert Regional Medical Center. We are saddened to learn the individual has died. We believe this to be an unfortunate but isolated incident. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends.

Unfortunately, this suspected overdose at Coachella is the latest in a string of drug-related deaths at music festivals nationwide.

Last year, a 20-year-old attendee of Ultra Music Festival in Miami died of a suspected drug overdose, and last summer, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg cancelled the last day of the popular Electric Zoo Festival in Manhattan after a 20-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man died of MDMA overdoses.